DB bassist you cant miss?

Hey all, I was wondering what DB bassist's you could reccomend EVERY bassist should know of? (Get that?) Like almost all bassists know of Jaco Pastorius, alot know of Victor Wooten. So who is an "Essential" bassist that would help understand the Full capabilities and Scope of a DB bass?

The only player I have listened to is John Patituchi, But I have no idea what you guys think of him.

There's a ton of them. But the one that comes up the most is probably Ray Brown. He is on several hundred records and if you've ever listened to jazz you've probably heard him without realizing it. Get an Oscar Peterson Trio record and you'll hear one of the masters.

Probably the most analogous to Jaco would be Scott LaFaro. He was an amazing bassist who was on the way to revolutionizing the instrument but died way too young (21 or 22 I beleive). Pickup the Bill Evans Trio - Live at the Village Vangaurd to hear LaFaro.

Hey all, I was wondering what DB bassist's you could reccomend EVERY bassist should know of? (Get that?) Like almost all bassists know of Jaco Pastorius, alot know of Victor Wooten. So who is an "Essential" bassist that would help understand the Full capabilities and Scope of a DB bass?

The only player I have listened to is John Patituchi, But I have no idea what you guys think of him.

Thanks a lot

Full of questions, Tim S.

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Well, there are loads of double bassists you should know about. I think I'd have to ask you if you are inquiring because you are:

For a beginning jazz player, I'd recommed listening to bassists that were:

1. well recorded (you need to hear things cleanly and clearly)
2. play fundamentally solid, with little embellishment
3. play familiar tunes .....jazz standards worked for me.

That said, my all time favorite is Oscar Pettiford on T. Monk's "Plays Duke Ellington". This is a short record (approx 35 minutes) so you won't be overwhelmed with material and the songs seem to follow chord charts fairly close.

Of course, most anything from Ray Brown would also be a healthy alternative, too.

Finally, don't forget the great opportunity to check out the TBDB cd that's being compiled right now. The contributors are excellent musicians as well as approachable cats who have helped me immeasurably in recent years.

So who is an "Essential" bassist that would help understand the Full capabilities and Scope of a DB bass?

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Apart from those mentioned, I would have to add Ron Carter and Paul Chambers, but to cover the particular question asked, I would say that NHOP is someone who can do the kind of things that Jaco did, but on DB - so can Christian McBride - listen to his version of Jaco's "Havona"!!

But on DB it is a lot more a matter of taste - so some people prefer good solid tone and great feel, over the spectacular chops of someone like NHOP - and all Jazz enthusiasts seem have their favourites.

Renauld Garcia-Fons for sure. Gorgeous vibrato, and he seems to pretty much do it all.

You should do some free snooping on the Liben website and listen to Rabbath do some Proto music, if you want to hear what many bassists have to be able to do now to get attention somewhere near the scale of Jaco, Pattituchi, or Wooten in the DB world.

So who is an "Essential" bassist that would help understand the Full capabilities and Scope of a DB bass?

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OK, folks have been much too polite in avoiding the list. Here's mine. In more-or-less chronological order, try:

Jimmy Blanton with Duke Ellington 1939-40 -- Generally recognized as the first guy to really wake up the DB in jazz

Oscar Pettiford -- His stuff from the 40s and 50s will still make your jaw drop

Paul Chambers -- The Man for walking. Get the stuff with Miles Davis

Ray Brown -- As noted, your can't go wrong

Scott LaFaro -- A visionary, dead too young

Ron Carter -- The Man for walking. Get the stuff with Miles Davis

Stan Clarke -- Get Chick Corea's Light as a Feather, grab a cold one and watch out!

Stafford James -- Get Dexter Gordon's Homecoming and learn about agressive 1970s backing

Niels Henning-Orsted Pederson -- NHOP has enormous chops

Michael Moore -- Risky, innovative improvisations wrapped in a package so pretty you don't even notice. In response to your post, guy, if someone said that Michael Moore was the one bassist I could listen to for the rest of my life, I could live with it.

Christian McBride -- As noted

Scott Colley -- Check out his work with Chris Potter

In the classical realm, don't miss Edgar Meyer, and take a stop over at www.GaryKarr.com

I've left off many fine players. No doubt that will be corrected shortly. HAVE FUN, GUY

The only player I have listened to is John Patituchi, But I have no idea what you guys think of him.

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Search for the threads. You can't have looked.

Bruce said:

It wasn't me who brought Jaco up - it was the original question, asked by the person who started this thread!!

WOW, I also forgot to mention, the other night I was listening to the DB TB sampler, and I started eventually playing with it, using one of my BG basses, and I played WAY different Than I every have, Like I was a totally different person! It was pretty cool!